All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

I would agree with @Russell Brazil that you should stay with the market you know. If that means waiting a little bit of time to save up for a more expensive market, that is what I would recommend. And it is what I have done by staying in DC to buy and hold. And while there are expensive areas, there are also reasonably priced properties to be found. Just don't go looking in Georgetown ;)

@Kedrick Thornton always happy to meet with DC investors. If you have time, I am also planning on having a meetup next Thursday, August 4th, for DC investors. Nothing formal. Really just a happy hour meet and greet session to network 

(https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/32...). 

If you can make that, it might be worth your time. otherwise, I am always up for grabbing a cup of coffee. 

There are lots of 4-unit buildings east of the river in DC. If you look in the Congress Heights or Anacostia neighborhoods you will find them. I believe Deanwood has a bunch as well but I am not as familiar with the NE area of DC. 4-units or less would qualify for conventional financing if you wanted to go that route. These are not the best neighborhoods that the DC area has to offer but that is where most of these multifamily buildings will be. And compared to other parts of the city these areas are at a much lower price point. 

DC also has a lot of rowhome conversions throughout the city. Meaning homes that have been converted to have a separate rental in the basement. 

Good luck and enjoy your time down here in DC. It is a great city. 

I am going to plan on attending as well Joseph. Thank you

Hi Larry,

While it is smart to make sure you are getting the best value for the best price. I would caution you that soliciting prices from other BP members will not necessarily be indicative of whether or not you are paying too much, or too little, for related services. The prices charged by CPAs varies based on location, expertise and your individual tax/business circumstances. Other BP members may have less complicated individual tax circumstances causing their prices to be less, or more complicated circumstances causing them to pay more. The experience and expertise of the individual CPA can also cause prices to vary. While you may not be using all of the knowledge that you are paying for today. It is nice to know that when your circumstances change, your CPA will be expert enough to realize the change and know the best way to handle it (think of it as insurance). And then obviously, the more complicated your situation, the more you are likely to pay. So any responses you receive here will never be a true apples-to-apples comparison.

I will admit, this advice is a little self-serving since I am a CPA myself. But I would recommend reaching out to different CPAs and business owner's in your specific market and seeing the range of prices that way. Asking on BP and finding out that someone in rural Arkansas is paying less than you in NY, is not going to be surprising. 

The one other thing I will mention is that in today's day and age, with all the varied communication tools at our disposal, you are no longer limited to having a CPA in your direct market.

Regards,

Since you can't use an LLC in this situation, I would buy what is called an "umbrella" insurance policy. It will protect your personal assets, up to the amount of the policy, in many of the same circumstances that an LLC would. In many real estate investing situations, an umbrella policy would be all the asset protection you would need. Umbrella policies are very reasonably priced (usually premiums are paid monthly) and will provide you the peace of mind that you are looking for.

Regards,

Hi Eveian,

It might help if you tell us exactly what you are looking for out of a CPA. Are you looking to finance a deal through crowdfunding? If that is the case, then I would recommend speaking with a lawyer. A lawyer who specializes in securities law would be the best to talk to about that. If you are wondering how to handle your personal taxes when it comes to some crowdfunded deals that you have invested in, I would be happy to help out. Send me a PM. 

The one thing that no one has mentioned is the negative impacts of paying anything personal out of an LLC account. Not just your personal mortgage but any personal expenses should never be paid out of an LLC account. You will be eliminating any protection that the LLC provided for limited liability if you do that. A lawyer will easily be able to "pierce the corporate veil" and go after your personal assets if they can show that you treated your LLC bank account as a personal account. Never do this. You open yourself up to a ton of liability risk and would destroy any protection that an LLC could provide.

It could be. Unfortunately, as is common with specific CPA questions, you are not going to get an easy answer. This is because everything depends on your current financial situation and your specific unique circumstances. You are going to need to call your CPA for the best answer. Depending on how the transfer is structured you could have many different possible outcomes. You would possibly have some estate and gift tax implications as well.

That is unacceptable. They should be able to give you a more concrete timeline. And to be changing the number of clients in front of you is just terrible business. I would take your business elsewhere if I were you. There are probably plenty of CPAs in your area of Wisconsin. Also, if you want to raise hell, go to the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services website (http://dsps.wi.gov/Licenses-Permits/CPA). Notify the agency that you'd like to register a complaint against this individual. Also, you'll want to inquire into whether this person is even an actual CPA and what his license status is (e.g. current and clean, suspended, revoked, etc.). It will be the responsibility of Wisconsin's Department of Safety and Professional Services to levy any sanctions against the CPA. 

There are many good CPA out there and I'm sorry to hear that you've had to deal with this bad one (if indeed, he is a CPA at all).